Invite Sharing
Ask the children to share something they learned recently at home or at church. For example, ask if they have found any new favorite scriptures or heard a message they could share with the class.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Prophets are messengers of Jesus Christ.
One of the most important things children can know about prophets is that they are messengers of Jesus Christ. The ideas below can help you teach them this significant truth.
Possible Activities
Whisper to one of the children a message for the rest of the class (such as asking the children to stand on one foot or turn around in a circle), and ask him or her to share the message with the other children. Repeat this activity, allowing a few other children to be the messenger. Help them understand how the messenger in this activity is like a prophet, who shares God’s message with us. Share a few examples of recent messages from the living prophet that have helped you grow closer to Jesus Christ.
Before class put the prophets words (cards) in a bag or bowl.
During class lay the pictures on the floor. (Sit on the floor with the children).
Have a child come up and pick out a card, help them read it to the class.
The other children can pick the picture that applies most to the message.
Invite a child to stand at the front of the room and pretend to be the prophet Amos. As you share some facts about Amos from Amos 7:14–15, give the child pictures or props to hold that go with each fact, such as pictures of a sheep, a fruit, and the Lord. Explain that Amos was a shepherd whom the Lord called to be His messenger.
Then show pictures of the Lord and the living prophet, and explain that the Lord continues to call messengers today. Read Amos 3:7 aloud, and ask the children to point to the appropriate picture when they hear the words “Lord” and “prophets.” Share your testimony that just as in the days of Amos, Jesus Christ speaks to us through His prophets.
You can pull this apart and put it together, as the children are learning the scripture.
Share a story from a recent Church magazine about the living prophet or about experiences Church members have had when they have followed the prophet’s counsel. (See also “Meet Today’s Prophets and Apostles” at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.)
Sing or play a recording of a song about prophets, such as “Follow the Prophet” (Children’s Songbook, 110–11), as the children work on this week’s activity page. Point out to the children phrases in the song that teach how prophets lead the way to Jesus Christ.
There is this gift tag from a couple weeks ago, but I created another one.
This one goes with the lesson better, but options are good.
If I seek good, the Lord will be with me.
Amos invited the Israelites to “seek good, and not evil” and promised that if they did, “the Lord … shall be with you.” How will you help the children respond to this invitation and receive this promise?
Possible Activities
Display several pictures of children doing good things, such as helping others or taking the sacrament. Let each child take a turn describing one of the pictures while the other children guess which picture he or she is describing. Read Amos 5:14, and help the children think of ways they will “seek good” every day.
I just couldn't resist(:
These are at Dollar Tree in the Party section. I cut them down a little so the printable wouldn't have the extra paper around it.
Invite the children to draw pictures of themselves doing something good. Read Amos 5:14, and emphasize the Lord’s promise that He will be with us when we seek good. Invite the children to add to their drawings a picture of Jesus standing with them.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
Prophets are messengers of Jesus Christ.
Amos 3:7 is a great scripture passage to help the children recognize that when we listen to the prophet, we are listening to a messenger of Jesus Christ.
Possible Activities
Help the children memorize all or part of Amos 3:7. For example, give them a few minutes to read the verse several times while you write every other word of the verse on the board. Invite the children to close their scriptures and say the verse out loud together, using the clues on the board. Then erase a few words at a time until the children can repeat the entire verse without any clues. What does this verse teach us about prophets? How has our living prophet helped us know what the Savior wants us to do?
You can pull pieces off while the children are memorizing the scripture.
Write several questions about prophets on strips of paper, such as the following: Why do we have prophets? What do prophets do? Why do you follow the prophet? What do prophets teach about? Ask the children to get into pairs, and have one child from each pair pick a question and ask his or her partner to answer it. If children need help answering a question, they can look in “Prophet” in Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). After the partner answers the question, the children can switch roles and choose another question.
Share with the children several facts about an Old Testament prophet they have learned about this year (such as Noah, Moses, or Isaiah). Ask them to guess which prophet you are describing. Repeat this for other prophets.
If I seek good, the Lord will be with me.
Children have many opportunities to choose between right and wrong. Consider how you will inspire them to “seek good, and not evil” (verse 14).
Possible Activities
Invite the children to search Amos 5:4–15, looking for the word “seek.” What does the Lord want us to seek, and what promise does He make to those who do? How do we seek the Lord?
Help the children memorize the last sentence of the thirteenth article of faith. How do we “seek after these things”?
The Restoration of the gospel ended the famine of apostasy.
Understanding what Amos taught about apostasy can help the children feel grateful for the Restoration of the gospel.
Possible Activities
Invite the children to read Amos 8:11–12, and talk about what happens when people don’t have the word of the Lord. Help the children define the words apostasy and famine, using the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org) or a dictionary. How is apostasy like a famine?
To help the children understand the Great Apostasy, review with them “After the New Testament” (in New Testament Stories, 167–70). Then discuss questions like these: Why was there an Apostasy? What happened as a result of the Apostasy? Why did the Lord restore His gospel? (see also “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Encourage the children to write these questions and their answers and to share them with their families at home.
This is my favorite lesson about he Apostasy and the restoration. You can get the printable to the cups HERE
Encourage Learning at Home
Give the children a few moments to think about something they learned today that they would like to share with a family member. Encourage them to decide who they will share it with and how they will share it.